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Before I know what’s happening, someone’s got my throat locked in their elbow from behind. They squeeze and squeeze, choking me until my voice cracks. I kick, I scratch. Hell, I even try biting their hand when they try to stifle my screams. I do everything I can to escape their frighteningly strong hold. I have no idea who’s behind me. All I know is that I have to escape.
I bring my elbow forward and ram it back with all my might. I manage to nail my attacker right in the ribcage, earning myself a pained grunt.
“HUNTER!” I scream the second there’s enough give to break away.
I run as fast as my legs can carry me. I don’t even know where I’m going, but it doesn’t matter. The more distance I put between myself and whoever broke into the mansion, the better.
“Eden?” Hunter shouts from somewhere down the hall. His thunderous footsteps make the whole place shake. “Eden, where are you?”
The lights flick on, momentarily blinding me. I reach out, disoriented, only to be pulled into his embrace.
“Jesus Christ, what happened?” Hunter demands. His eyes are wide, his nostrils flared. He looks downright murderous as he inspects my throat. I don’t need a mirror to know that it’s red and on the verge of bruising.
“Someone’s in your office,” I rasp. I don’t sound like myself, barely able to form words around my shoulder-shaking sobs. “They tried to grab me. I think—”
Hunter’s so angry he’s shaking. “Are they still here?”
“I don’t know.”
“Call 911. I’ll check it out.”
“I’m coming with you!” I insist. “I don’t want you to go alone.”
He grinds his teeth, taking my hand in his. His grip is tight, like he’s afraid he’ll somehow lose me. “Stay close.”
The intruder is long gone by the time we make it to his office. The evidence of my struggle with the attacker is everywhere, from the small dent in the wall to the scattered papers on the floor.
Mei-Lee wanders in, looking understandably alarmed. She signs quickly, saying she noticed the lights on when she got up to use the bathroom. Hunter is about to explain when I spot something out of the corner of my eye. I tug on his arm and point to the office desk.
Seated on top are three little dolls. One that looks a lot like Mei-Lee, one that looks like Hunter, and one that looks like… I’ve never known dread like this before.
“That’sme,” I say, breathless.
Tip #29: Dress for the job you want.
Hunter
“Can you give us a description?” the officer asks her. “Did they say anything? Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?”
“I already told you,” Eden grumbles, “they grabbed me from behind. I didn’t see or hear anything.”
“You said you’d recently been having issues with your security cameras. Is that correct, Mr. Stride?”
I grind my teeth. “Yes. We had an… unexpected delivery a while back. The camera at the front door was offline for some reason. I called the technician and they assured me they had everything fixed.”
The officer frowns. “We reviewed the footage, Mr. Stride. It looks likeallyour feeds were cut shortly before the time of the incident and your alarms were disabled.”
Something ugly and bitter coats my tongue. I’m incensed.
The break-in, the attack, those creepy fucking dolls to go with the mysterious dollhouse… This is too much. To top everything off, Eden’s now been dragged into my mess. Whoever’s been watching me is now watching her. It boils my blood knowing they got their hands on her. I’m thankful Eden managed to get away, but if she hadn’t…
I take a deep breath. The last thing I need right now is to lose control.
But all I can think about is Eden’s blood curdling scream, calling frantically for me at the top of her lungs. Thewhat ifsricochet around inside my skull. What if I’d been faster? What if they’d done more than just hurt Eden?
What if this only gets worse?
“Rest assured, Mr. Stride,” the office says. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. My guys are sweeping for prints.”
